Consumers may acquire (e.g., purchase, lease, rent, etc.) telecommunication devices (e.g., mobile devices and other devices capable of performing telecommunication services) from various telecommunication service providers. In some examples, a consumer may purchase a mobile device from a first telecommunication service provider that offers mobile devices at subsidized prices. That is, in some examples, a consumer may purchase a mobile device from the first telecommunication service provider at a price that is lower than a price that the mobile device is offered for sale by a second telecommunication service provider. In such examples, service plans available from the first telecommunication service provider may have different, and in some examples, less favorable, terms than service plans that are available from the second telecommunication service provider. To minimize the out of pocket price of a mobile device and maximize favorable terms for a service plan, a consumer may purchase a mobile device from the first telecommunication service provider and activate the mobile device with the second telecommunication service provider. Accordingly, the consumer may have acquired the mobile device at a subsidized price and yet may obtain a service plan for the mobile device that offers more favorable terms than the terms available via the first telecommunication service provider.
Mobile devices may be associated with subscriber identity module (SIM) cards which store personal information of respective account holders. A SIM card may be a portable memory chip or an integrated memory chip (eSIM). A SIM card associated with a mobile device may include data associated with a phone number of an account holder associated with the mobile device, an address book of the account holder, text messages sent and received via the mobile device, and other data. Generally, when a consumer opens an account associated with a telecommunication service provider, the telecommunication service provider may activate a SIM card of a mobile device associated with the account. That is, each SIM card includes a unique number printed on the memory chip which requires activation by the telecommunication service provider (e.g., via a website associated with the telecommunication service provider, via a call to the telecommunication service provider, etc.).
To prevent consumers from engaging in the behavior described above (e.g., purchasing a mobile device from a first telecommunication service provider that sells the mobile device at a subsidized price and activating the mobile device with a second telecommunication service provider that provides better service plan terms), telecommunication service providers may lock SIM cards on mobile devices. That is, telecommunication service providers may lock SIM cards on mobile devices such that SIM cards are tied to particular telecommunication service providers and/or can only be used with particular service plans from the particular telecommunication service providers. Furthermore, in some examples, telecommunication service providers may lock mobile devices such that certain mobile devices will only work with SIM cards from the telecommunication service provider.